Oblivion
by Necessitating Love
Summary: Faded photographs of a past long gone. A mysterious voice. They say love conquers all, but sometimes, love might not be enough to conquer evil ..especially when the evil force erases all memories of the girl Tai loves more than life. [Taiora]
1. A Lack of Courage

**Disclaimer**- Sadly, I don't own Digimon. If I did, Taiora would have prevailed. Uh oh, I can sense the flames coming at me already. P

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"_Most affections are habits or duties we lack the courage to end." -Henri de Mantherlant_

**Chapter 1 - A Lack of Courage**

There she stood under the soft glow of the pale moonlight, waiting for me. "Sora?" Was it really her? A small, timid smile crept across her face, as a light breeze blew through her glimmering auburn hair, and her sparkling, crimson eyes beckoned me closer. Obediently, I treaded my way across the field of flowers, closer, closer, closer. I abruptly stopped about a foot away from her, afraid that she would vanish if I got any closer. "Sora?" I whispered again. I looked into her eyes and saw my own apprehensive face reflected in them.

She looked down at my hands, slipped her delicate hands into mine, and looked back at me. "Tai…" she whispered. She seemed unsure of what to say. We both were. But what was there to say that couldn't be expressed?

I pulled her into me and wrapped my arms around her, afraid to let go. It was her: Sora…_my_ Sora. I felt her smooth arms link around my neck as I gazed into her eyes. I felt myself leaning in closer and closer as our eyes slowly closed, our lips just centimeters apart, until…

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

Seventeen-year-old Tai Kamiya woke with a start as his alarm clock blared loudly into his ear. The brown-haired boy blinked against the sunlight flooding in through the bedroom window as the details of his dream flooded back into his head. Groaning at the bad timing of his alarm clock, he threw the still-beeping clock at the wall. He remained lying on his bed, only half listening to the odd little sound the recked alarm clock was now producing, as his mind reran the details of his dream.

As Tai stared at the ceiling, a drop of sweat rolled down the side of his already moist forehead; he had forgotten to turn on the air conditioner before going to bed. He was getting so scatterbrained nowadays -more so than he already was, anyway.

Absent-mindedly wiping the thin layer of sweat on his forehead with the back of his hand and sighing at his own stupidity, Tai sat up and yawned. Still thinking about his dream, he opened the drawer of his bedside table, reached into the back of the drawer, and gingerly pulled out an old photo.

Tai smiled as he gazed at the photo of him and Sora that had been taken when they were three. His mom had taken the picture just days after they had met, and yet, he and Sora looked as if they had known each other since birth. Tai had looked at the photo so often that he was able to picture it perfectly in his mind, but he sat reabsorbing every little detail of the precious photo; he and Sora with each other's arm around one another's shoulder; his goggles dangling in his free hand with a dirty soccer ball clutched in Sora's free arm; their wide, gap-toothed smiles; his chocolate eyes and her crimson eyes, each set shining with joy; his messy brown hair and her neat auburn hair. The photo captured what Tai missed most: he and Sora together, without a care in the world and no one but each other.

But that was the past. Tai sighed heavily and carefully returned the photo to its place in the drawer.

After stretching, he dragged his feet into the livingroom and turned on the air conditioner so that it was now blasting cold air. There was no one but himself in the house; his parents and Kari had gone to visit his grandparents and wouldn't be back for another month. Tai stood in front of the air conditioner, eyes closed, listening to nothing but the low whirring of the air conditioner, his wild brown hair blowing this way and that.

The dream…he and Sora had almost kissed…but it was only a dream…

The phone rang as he continued to be lost in thought.

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There he was, gently being pushed toward me by his mother. I pulled at my hair nervously as my mother also pushed me gently toward him. He stood in front of me, looking at me curiously with big, chocolate eyes. He had a pair of goggles dangling from his neck and he had the craziest hair I had ever seen in my three young years of life. As I took in his appearance, he broke into a wide, gap-toothed smile and said, "Hi, I'm Tai!"

I gave him a timid smile. "I'm Sora."

And so it began.

Tai and I proved to be inseparable. Our memories are too plentiful to count, but I can still picture each one of them as vividly as though it were just yesterday: the times when we ran around the soccer field together as Tai taught me how to play soccer; the times Tai stood up for me when the other little boys refused to let me play because I was "a girl"; the times when other girls would warn me about Tai's cooties and the boys would warn Tai about my cooties, and how we laughed about it afterwards; the times when we just lay sprawled on the floor of his room, side by side, and talked away the entire day; even the time when Tai accidentally threw up in my hat and didn't tell me about it until I had put it on.

And then there was the Digital World. Tai and I had many moments together, but there is one moment that still sticks out above the rest. It was the time Tai came to my rescue when I had been abducted by Datamon. I can still feel Tai's grip on my hand as he held onto me with all the strength he had, even as Datamon attempted to pull us apart. In that brief period of time, Tai had my life in his hands, and as our eyes met, I felt something –something I had never felt around Tai before; a feeling that told me Tai was meant to be more than just a friend; a feeling that I dismissed as a spur-of-the-moment thing –a feeling I shouldn't have ignored. 'Besides,' I had thought later on, 'Tai only thinks of me as a friend, and so do I.'

Then there was our argument about the birthday present Tai gave me. It was a petty argument, really. I guess I had been a little too self-conscious when I got mad at poor Tai for giving me a hairclip. It was a really nice hairclip too. I still don't really understand why I got so angry at him. Of course, we made up after Tai sent me an apology email, when really, it should have been me who sent the apology. That was Tai: always taking the initiative to keep his friendships strong; the glue that kept us together for all these years. As I read his email signed with "Love, Tai", I felt a familiar feeling –the feeling that I had once dismissed as nothing special. I shook off the feeling once more as I sent Tai a reply with my own apology –without a "Love, Sora." Tai had probably typed "Love" by mistake, anyway.

I refused to let myself think of Tai as more than just a best friend. I refused to risk our lifelong friendship with silly puppy love.

That is why last Christmas, I broke Tai's heart.

That Christmas, Matt had invited myself and the rest of the DigiDestined gang to his concert. I stood at the backstage entrance, nervously clutching a small, wrapped box of cookies as Biyomon assured me that Matt would love my cookies. But that was the least of my concerns.

Lately, Tai had been acting differently around me. His arm brushed up against my arm too often for it to be accidental, he looked at me in a different way, and his tone was soft when he talked to me. When I told Mimi about Tai's behavior, her eyes widened and she began to laugh. According to her, Tai had "the hots" for me.

If that were true, how would Tai react if he saw me waiting for Matt? I would soon have my answer.

"Hey, Sora! Wait up!" Tai ran up to me with Agumon by his side.

As Gabumon and Biyomon bickered about Gabumon being untrustworthy on delivering my cookies to Matt, Tai turned to me.

"So, um, Sora," he started, a tone of anxiety present in his voice. "I was wondering if you're going to the concert tonight with anybody." Then he quickly added, "I mean, not that it matters to me or anything…"

It was then, for the third time in years, that I felt the feeling again, pleading me to leap into Tai's arms and be his forever. And again, I brushed it off. "No, I want to be available in case Matt's free later," I told him as the small box of cookies I was holding seemed to get heavier.

Then, for a brief moment, a glint of pure despair flashed in his chocolate eyes. "Oh…Matt, huh?"

I gave a small, nervous laugh and looked down. Goodness knew that I really liked Tai, but Tai was my best friend, and Matt was, well, different. I suddenly felt ashamed at myself. Had I betrayed my best friend? Had I destroyed our friendship? I couldn't meet his gaze.

As if knowing what I had thought, Tai walked over to me, put an assuring hand on my shoulder and smiled. "It's okay."

"Y-you're not mad, Tai?" I asked, even as I looked up to see his hurtful eyes. I wanted to kick myself right then and there.

"No, of course not," he said softly, putting on a confident face.

But he couldn't mask the pain in his voice.

He gently pushed me toward the door where Matt would be and said, "Now get in there and say 'hi' to Matt for me."

Upon Agumon's complaint that the least I could do was to give him the cookies, I turned to Tai and smiled. "Tell you what. I'll make a special batch for you."

As I turned around and entered the tent, I heard Tai whisper something inaudible.

DING!

Seventeen-year-old Sora Takenouchi snapped back into reality as the oven timer beeped. The auburn-haired beauty lifted her head from the dining table where she had fallen asleep and got up from her chair. She then walked into the kitchen where a pleasant scent of cookies wafted in the air.

Cookies…They reminded Sora of Christmas…and Tai's painful eyes.

Shaking the thought of Tai out of her head, Sora removed the warm cookies from the oven and dropped each one onto a plate. As the last cookie was dropped onto the plate, she sighed.

"Okay, maybe I'll just call him," she decided after unsuccessfully trying to get Tai out of her mind.

Sora picked up the phone and dialed Tai's number. She put the phone to her ear and waited for someone to pick up. But no one did.

Frowning, Sora hung up.

'He's probably still sleeping,' she thought to herself. 'Besides, it's only 10am, and Tai doesn't wake up until noon at the earliest.' Smiling at the thought of her best friend, Sora sunk into a sofa. Almost as soon as she had lowered herself onto the sofa, the phone rang.

Thinking it was Tai calling back, she eagerly reached over from the sofa and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, Sora. It's Matt."

Okay, so it wasn't Tai. "Oh… Hey."

"Well, _someone_ sounds disappointed to hear my voice," Matt joked.

"Oh, no, Matt. Of course I'm not disappointed!" Or was she? "I was just…thinking about something when the phone rang."

"Oh, well, are you free tonight? There's this great new restaurant I wanted to take you to."

Sora smiled. Of course she had time. She had all the time in the world for Matt, her loving boyfriend. "That sounds great!"

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Tai lay on the couch emptily staring at the TV, lost in thought.

The more Tai thought about Sora, the more he missed her. It wasn't like he never saw Sora anymore. Quite on the contrary, he and Sora saw each other almost everyday. She had been over his house just yesterday, and they had talked and laughed together like they had for years. No, it wasn't Sora's physical being that Tai missed; it was the intangible thought and the chance that someday, he and Sora would be able to do more than just talk and laugh (**A/N**- And no, I don't mean sex, you perverts! lol) .

Tai wanted to be able to hold Sora in his arms, to kiss her, to look into her beautiful crimson eyes and tell her three simple words, "I love you." But it looked as though Sora would never think of him as she thought of Matt: as a lover.

The entire house was now cool, for Tai had left the air conditioner on full blast since morning. Nevertheless, Tai still felt the need for a cold shower. As ice-cold water ran down his already cold body, Tai began to feel slightly numb. And numb was good. Numb meant his mind would slowly slip away from Sora until he couldn't feel the emotional pain. It was a temporary thing, but long enough for Tai to pull himself together until he fell apart once more.

It was a constant cycle: Fall apart, numb, pull together, fall apart, numb, pull together, fall apart, numb, pull together, fall apart …

After getting out of the shower and pulling on a pair of brown cargo shorts and a navy blue t-shirt, Tai walked out of the house to the hallway and into the elevator.

As the elevator slowly creaked down to the first floor, Tai stood examining his reflection in the cold steel doors of the elevator. His hair was sticking out in odd angles all over his head, giving it an even wilder look than it already had. Trying to tame it down a bit, he ran a hand through his brown hair, but had limited success.

"Whatever," Tai sighed. It wasn't like he was trying to attract any girls. Not that he even needed to try. Girls at school flocked to Tai like bugs to a lamp. When Matt became unavailable after Sora became his girlfriend, girls turned their attention to Tai, who was just as desirable, if not more. Tai was no rock star, but he was a hell of a soccer player with looks that could make any girl swoon over him. Any girl, except Sora, that is. Or maybe Sora just wasn't the type of girl who openly expressed it.

The elevator lurched to a stop, almost causing Tai to fall over sideways, and it let out a low groan as the doors slid open.

"Damn elevator's going to break down any day now," he grumbled as he stepped out of the elevator into the empty lobby.

Tai stuffed his hands into his pockets and walked outside into the warm night air. He walked along the sidewalk, absent-mindedly running his eyes over the various stores that he passed. As he passed a jewlery store, something behind the window glittered brightly and caught his eye. He came to an abrupt stop in front of the window and stared down at a magnificent, glittering diamond-studded hair clip resting on a dark violet silk cushion. A small sign next to the cushion read, "For the love of your life."

A small smile appeared on Tai's face as he remembered the hair clip that he had given Sora many years ago. It was a bittersweet memory. He looked back at the small "For the love of your life" sign and sighed, fogging the window in the process. He would've given this to Sora if they had ended up together.

Sora…

Tai quickly turned away from the window and continued his way down the sidewalk.

He soon felt his stomach quiver as it growled in hunger. As he didn't feel like walking home to eat alone in the empty apartment, Tai stopped and scanned the street for a place to eat. His eyes fell upon a large yellow banner that read, "Yuraku Restaurant -Grand Opening!"

Worth a shot. Tai made his way across the street and entered the restaurant. He was greeted by a waitress wearing a kimono, and was led to a small table for two. The waitress handed him a menu and waited on his order with a pen and pad in hand. Tai came upon an order of spicy tuna rolls and was once again reminded of Sora; spicy tuna rolls were her favorite.

Sora had once devoured an entire platter of spicy tuna rolls that Tai had made for her, exclaiming how she had never eaten such good sushi in her life.

He smiled to himself and ordered the rolls. Once the waitress scribbled down his order on the pad and walked away, Tai rested his head on the table and closed his eyes. The restaurant was illuminated by dim lights and classical music played softly in the background, and he couldn't help but feel a bit sleepy.

Tai had almost drifted off to sleep when he heard a familiar laugh. He lifted his head from the table to see Sora, wearing a simple, yet elegant black dress, and Matt in a casual, yet stylish green shirt and dark denim jeans. They were arm-in-arm and laughing together, as a kimono-clad waitress led them to the table-for-two across from his.

The two did not seem to notice Tai as they took their seats and continued to laugh and chat.

As Sora and Matt looked at their menus, Tai stared at Sora from his seat. As much as he hated to admit it, Sora seemed happy with Matt. Tai gazed at Sora's shining, joyful crimson eyes and was reminded of the three-year-old Sora in the photo that he treasured. The beautiful crimson eyes that had once only shined with joy in Tai's presence, were now shining as they looked at Matt.

Tai watched as Matt reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. Grinning, he slid it across the table to a surprised Sora. Giving Matt a you-really-shouldn't-have look, Sora slowly lifted the lid to reveal a gorgeous diamond-studded hairclip –the exact same hairclip that Tai had been looking at earlier. Sora's hand flew to her gapping mouth at the sight of the hairclip and looked at Matt with shining eyes.

"Oh, Matt! It's _beautiful_!" Sora gushed. "But, what's this for?"

"For the love of my life." Matt winked at Sora as she blushed.

Tai clenched his fists. Matt wasn't supposed to be the one giving Sora that hairclip. Sora wasn't supposed to be the love of _Matt's_ life. It was him, _Tai_, who should be sitting across from Sora giving her that hairclip. Sora was the love of _his_ life.

Matt was supposed to be one of his closest friends, but why was he dating the one girl that Tai loved more than life? Was Matt doing this on purpose? Was Matt trying to get back at him for something? Tai suddenly grew furious at Matt. He couldn't sit here and watch Matt wooing Sora any longer. He had to get away. Tai abruptly stood up, knocking back his chair in the process. The chair gave a loud "_Thunk_!" as it hit the wooden floor.

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Sora sat down across from Matt, still laughing at the joke Matt had made earlier.

"So, what do you think of the décor in this place?" Matt asked as he settled into his chair. "Pretty nice, huh?"

"Yeah, it's so nice and peaceful." Sora said, as she admired the various Japanese paintings on the walls.

Matt grinned at her as the waitress handed them menus. "Order whatever you desire." he said.

Sora smiled and looked at her menu. "Hey! They have spicy tuna rolls!"

Matt looked up from his menu and smiled. "Spicy tuna rolls it is!" The waitress scribbled down their order and walked away.

"Um, Sora?" Matt asked as his hand slowly reached into his pocket.

Sora looked up from her glass of water. "Hmm?"

Matt fidgeted with something in his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. "I, uh, got a little something for you," Matt said as he grinned sheepishly and slid the box across the table to Sora.

Sora put down her glass and looked at Matt in surprise. "What is it?"

"Open it."

Sora slowly lifted the velvet lid to reveal a glittering diamond-studded hairclip. Her hand flew to her gapping mouth at the sight. It was absolutely magnificent. "Oh, Matt! It's _beautiful_!" Sora exclaimed as she gingerly lifted the hairclip from the violet silk it was resting on. "But, what's this for?"

Matt looked into Sora's crimson eyes. "For the love of my life," he answered with a wink.

Then, from the table across from theirs, Sora and Matt heard a loud "_Thunk_!" They turned to see someone with wild brown hair storming away as a waitress holding a plate called, "Sir! What about your spicy tuna rolls?"

"_Tai!_" Sora called out as she and Matt stood up.

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Tai stormed away toward the exit and did not stop when the waitress called after him about his order. He did, however, halt when he heard Sora's voice call him. Slowly, Tai turned around to see Sora and Matt with matching expressions of surprise on their faces.

Tai stood looking at Sora for a good five seconds until Sora broke the akward silence. "Wow, Tai! We never thought we'd see you here!"

"Yeah, Tai. Hey, come here and join us!" Matt added.

No, Tai didn't want to be near Matt. Tai turned to the waitress, who was still holding the plate of tuna rolls. "Give those to them." Tai pointed to Sora and Matt. He then looked back at Sora and gave her a small smile. "Enjoy your meal," he muttered before turning on his heel and running out of the restaurant.

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Sora was awfully confused. When she had called out to Tai, he had turned around and looked at her in the same painful way he had looked at her last Christmas. Then, he had run out without a word to Matt. Was Tai angry at Matt? Sora knew that Tai had been upset when she rejected him, but she had never thought that Tai would be angry at Matt, one his closest friends. In fact, Tai had seemed just fine around Matt, even when she and Matt had announced that they were official. Tai had clapped Matt on the back and congratulated him.

But then again, Tai was known to be stubborn. Perhaps Tai had been too stubborn to admit to himself that he was jealous? No, what was she talking about? Why would Tai be jealous? Tai had never made another move on her after Christmas, which seemed to suggest that he was no longer interested in her.

Even as Sora slid into her bed later that night, she couldn't erase the thought of Tai's chocolate eyes looking so painfully at her.

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Tai didn't stop running until he came into the lobby of his apartment. He repeatedly slammed his fist on the elevator button until the doors finally slid open. As the elevator lurched upwards, Tai doubled over clutching his chest as he struggled to catch his breath.

Sora…

Tai was falling apart.

As soon as the elevator doors slid open, Tai ran out and down the hall to the door. Once he had shoved his house key into the keyhole, entered the house, and slammed the door shut behind him, Tai leaned back onto the door.

Sora…

His mind's eye saw Sora's arm linked with Matt's, Sora laughing with Matt, Sora smiling adoringly at Matt, Sora's eyes glittering as Matt gave her the hairclip.

Tai wanted to fall out of love with Sora. He wanted to be able to look at Sora and think of her as nothing more than just a friend -but he couldn't. Tai, the bearer of the crest of courage, lacked the courage to end the love he so desperately wanted.

"Sora!" Tai screamed at the top of his lungs. He collapsed into a ball and began to cry.

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**A/N**- I know this chapter might have been really slow for some of you, but I promise the next chapters will be better. The real story hasn't begun yet. :) This first chapter was more of an introduction, if anything. I may or may not post the next chapters depending on how the reviews go. I started this story as means of entertaining my imagination and only posted it to see if anyone else would enjoy it. So review if you like the story so far. Thanks. :D

And yeah, I know Tai's really…depressed in this chapter, but you'll see Tai's undepressed, sweet side in other chapters.


	2. The Voice of Evil

**Disclaimer**- I still don't own Digimon…as much as I want to… 

**A/N**- A huge thanks to the few who reviewed and added this to their favorites/alerts. I hope this chapter won't disappoint you too much. To the rest of you, _pleeeeeease_ review! I don't care if you just type in a smiley face or a one word review. I just want to know what the rest of you think.  (BTW, flames are not constructive critisisms, and are a _huge_ waste of your own time, as I ignore them.)

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"_Those who have courage to love should have courage to suffer." –Anthony Trollope_

**Chapter 2 – The Voice of Evil**

"Tai Kamiya." A deep, malevolent voice echoed around Tai as his eyes shot open at the voice. Where was he? This wasn't his house. Tai blinked, trying to adjust his eyes to the heavy darkness that surrounded and pressed upon him, but he could not see anything but his own body.

"Tai Kamiya," the deep voice echoed around him once more.

"Who are you?" Tai demanded. "Show yourself!"

This time, the same voice let out a echoing, wicked laugh that sent chills down Tai's spine. "You are in emotional pain, Tai Kamiya," the voice said.

Tai was slightly taken aback by this statement. Who, or what, was this voice and how did it know his name, let alone his emotions? Nevertheless, Tai retorted, "Who says I'm in 'emotional pain'? I'm just fine, thank you!"

The voice did not believe Tai. "Your wrist says otherwise," it said. Tai looked down at his left wrist and saw the fresh cuts that criss-crossed across it. He had almost forgotten that he had cut himself to try to numb his depression. "I can help you forget the cause of your pain," the voice said, almost gently, but still with an air of maliciousness.

Tai looked up from his wrist. "The…cause…?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"I am referring to your, ah, love interest; a certain Sora Takenouchi," the voice sneered.

Tai glared at the darkness in front of him, as if the voice were standing there. "_Don't_ try to drag Sora into this," he growled.

The voice merely gave another spine-tingling cackle. "Think about it, Tai Kamiya. I will be back soon," the voice boomed as Tai felt himself being lifted out of the darkness.

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1:59pm. That was the indicated time on the wall clock ticking softly in the Kamiya household's livingroom, as a brown-haired boy slept on a white leather sofa. 2:00pm: the clock emitted two loud chimes, disturbing the boy from his slumber.

Tai groaned and sat up, eyes still half-closed from drowsiness. He reached up to rub his tired eyes, only to wince in pain from several unhealed cuts on his wrist -souvenirs from the previous night's depression. He was then reminded of the strange voice. Had that been a dream?

Yes, it was probably just a dream.

Tai looked down at his wrist and ran a finger along the still-tender cuts. He couldn't remember how or with what he had cut himself with, but gazing at the red criss-crossing lines running across his wrist gave him a sort of dark satisfaction. Cutting himself gave Tai a feeling of control over himself; Sora was not the one in control; she was not the one who was causing him pain. It was he, Tai, inflicting his own pain upon his own body.

Just then, the phone rang, snapping Tai out of his dark reverie. He picked up the phone that was ringing on the coffeetable in front of him. "Hello?"

"Hey, Tai!" a cheery voice on the other end chirped.

Tai couldn't help but smile at the sound of the voice. "Hey, Kari. How's everything at Grandma's?"

"Really, _really _boring," Kari sighed. "I can't _wait_ to get home, but mom and dad want to stay just a little longer than planned."

Tai frowned. An entire month alone in the house was long enough. "How much longer?"

"I dunno. Probably just a week or two at the most. Mom keeps insisting that Grandma's too old to take care of herself," Kari replied with a tone of slight annoyance.

Tai chuckled at this. Their grandmother was indeed old in age, but she was young in soul, and couldn't sit still for a minute. Their mom, however, refused to accept the fact that an eighty-five-year-old senior had more energy than her fourty-year-old daughter.

"Anyway, I wish you were here Tai," Kari sighed.

"I wish you were home," Tai replied. He had been unable to go to their grandmother's because he had fallen ill, but had insisted that his parents and Kari go enjoy themselves. "So, how's mom and d-"

Tai was interrupted by the doorbell. "Sorry, Kari, I gotta go. There's someone at the door."

"Oh, okay. I'll call again soon!"

Tai hung up the phone and walked to the front door. Looking through the peephole, he saw a certain auburn-haired beauty standing in front of the door. Instantly forgetting all that had happened the previous evening, he eagerly unlocked the door and opened it for Sora.

"Hey!" Tai greeted her almost breathlessly, grinning from ear to ear.

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Sora stood in front of the Kamiya household's front door, hand held in midair just inches from the doorbell. She had woken up this morning, determined to talk to Tai about the previous evening and had walked confidently all the way to Tai's apartment, but now, she was unsure of herself. What in the world was she supposed to say to Tai? She had thought of what she would say, but she couldn't remember any of it now. What if he was angry at her?

Sora frowned. If Tai was angry at her, then so be it. She pressed the doorbell and waited a few seconds before the door swung open to reveal Tai grinning from ear to ear.

So much for being angry at her.

"Hey!" Tai greeted her, as he stepped aside to let her in.

"Hey," Sora replied, still a bit surprised at Tai's relatively good mood. As she stepped into the house, she was immediately hit with a rush of cold air. "Did you get hit with a blizzard in here?" Sora asked, as she shivered and hugged herself.

"Oh, sorry about that," Tai said as he closed the door behind him and rushed over to the air conditioner. "I guess I forgot to turn it down a bit yesterday," he said, grinning sheepishly.

Sora lowered herself onto the livingroom sofa and Tai plopped himself down beside her. "So," he said once they had settled down. "What brings you to my humble abode?"

Sora couldn't help but giggle at the goofy smile Tai had plastered on his face. Her best friend was back to his old goofy self today. Maybe he had just been in a bad mood yesterday.

Happy to see Tai back to his old self, Sora threw her arms around a bewildered Tai. If Tai still had feelings for her, maybe he would wrap his arms around her too.

"S-S-Sora?" Tai managed to stammer. "W-what are you doing?"

"Hugging you," Sora answered matter-of-factly. Tai sounded taken aback, but Sora still did not feel his arms wrap around her. 'See, no feelings,' Sora thought, not realizing her own disappointment. She pulled back and smiled at Tai, who still had a bemused expression on his face. "Sorry, I just wanted to know what that would feel like," she said breezily.

After a moment, Tai's face broke into a sly grin. "Ah, you wanted to know what it felt like to hug Odaiba High School's premiere heartthrob!" he said, chocolate eyes twinkling.

Sora laughed out loud and slapped him playfully on the arm. "You're so full of yourself, Tai,"she joked.

"Some things never change," Tai winked. "Hey, you want a popsicle?"

"Sure," Sora said as she leaned back on the sofa. 'Tai and his food,' she thought to herself, smiling.

Tai hopped off the sofa and went into the kitchen whistling a random tune. He came back to the livingroom with an orange double popsicle in hand. "Here," he said as he held it out to Sora. "Break off your half."

Sora reached out to grab the popsicle stick from Tai's outstretched hand, when she saw thin red lines running across his wrist. They looked grotesquely like…

Sora broke off her half of the popsicle and before Tai could pull back his hand, Sora grabbed it with her free hand and pulled him closer.

"Wha-" Tai protested before Sora cut him off.

"Tai," Sora looked up from Tai's wrist. "what are these cuts?"

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As Tai closed the door behind him, he saw Sora wrap her arms around herself.

"Did you get hit with a blizzard in here?" she asked, shivering slightly.

Tai mentally kicked himself for forgetting to lower the air conditioner. 'First, I forget to turn the damn thing on, and now, I forget to lower it from full power,' Tai grumbled in his head. "Oh, sorry about that. I guess I forgot to turn it down yesterday."

After lowering the air conditioner to its minimum, Tai plopped down next to Sora on the sofa. "So, what brings you to my humble abode?" he said in his usual playful tone.

He smiled as Sora giggled. He loved how her crimson eyes twinkled when she laughed. Then, before he knew anything had happened, Sora had thrown her arms around him. It took a few seconds before Tai found his voice and stammered, "S-S-Sora? W-What are you doing?" while at the same time thinking, 'Wow, her hair smells nice.'

"Hugging you," she replied, arms still wrapped around his body.

'This is it Tai,' he thought, mind racing. 'It's now or never.' Tai slowly began to lift his arms, but Sora pulled away before he could close them around her body.

He cursed in his head before Sora smiled and said, "Sorry, I just wanted to know what that would feel like."

'Ah, well, better luck next time?' "Ah, you wanted to know what it felt like to hug Odaiba High School's premiere heartthrob!" he said, trying with all his might not to sound disappointed about his lost chance. He laughed with Sora as she playfully slapped his arm.

"You're so full of youself, Tai," she giggled.

Tai grinned. "Some things never change," he said with a wink. "Hey, you want a popsicle?"

"Sure," she replied, and Tai hopped off the sofa and into the kitchen. He grabbed a double popsicle from the freezer, ripped off the wrapper, and walked back into the livingroom. "Here," he said, holding out the popisicle so Sora could take the second stick. "Break off your half."

Sora broke off her half, but then grabbed Tai's hand before he could lift his half of the popsicle to his mouth. He grabbed the popsicle out of his left hand and stuck it in his mouth before he realized why Sora had grabbed his hand; he still had the cuts from the previous night on his wrist . "Wha-" he tried protesting as he attempted to pull his hand away, but Sora cut him off.

"Tai, what are these cuts?" Sora asked as she looked up at him with worried eyes.

Tai pulled his popsicle out of his mouth with his free hand. "It's nothing!" he said, looking away from her gaze.

"Tai," Sora persisted, "have you been…cutting yourself?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Sora. Why would I cut myself?" Tai retorted. "I just…" his eyes fell upon Miko, Kari's cat, snoozing on the windowsill. "I just got scratched by Miko."

Tai felt Sora's grip on his hand loosen as if in relief, but she still said softly, "I don't believe you."

"Then don't," Tai snapped, as he pulled his hand free.

The two sat in silence, the only noise being the occasional slurping from eating their popsicles and the low whirring of the air conditioner. Tai hid his wrist from view when he caught Sora sneaking another glance at the telltale cuts. "I told you it's nothing, Sora," Tai huffed as he stood up to throw away his bare popsicle stick.

"Whatever you say, Tai," Sora said, though with a tone of disbelief. "Anyway, I'd better get going," she added after throwing her own stick in the trash. "Matt and I are going to the movies."

"Oh, okay," Tai said. 'Damn, Matt' he thought, frowning at Sora's back as she moved towards the front door. "I'll walk you down to the lobby," he offered, following behind Sora.

"Sure, thanks Tai," Sora smiled as she slipped on her flip-flops.

As they waited for the elevator, Tai kept his hands in his pockets so that Sora couldn't steal anymore glances at his wrist. The elevator doors finally creaked open, and the two silently stepped inside as the doors slowly slid closed.

Tai leaned against the back of the elevator and stared at the ceiling. "So, uh, what movie are you and Matt watching?" he asked casually, chocolate brown eyes still fixed to the ceiling.

"I don't know," Sora replied coolly, as her crimson eyes watched a small dial slowly move from "8th Floor" to "7th Floor." "Matt wants to watch a sc-" but she stopped midsentence as the elevator lurched to a sudden stop and the light began to flicker on and off.

Tai felt Sora cling onto his forearm as the elevator emitted an ominous groan and the lights flickered off. "T-Tai," she whispered. "This is normal, right?" Even as she asked, Tai knew that this most certainly was _not_ normal.

Nevertheless, Tai put on a confident voice, "Yeah, don't worry. It'll be up and running any second now," he said, even as his heart began to pump.

Then, he heard it: the voice. The same, deep malicious voice that he had heard in his dream. Or had it been more than a dream? Somewhere from the darkness, the voice was laughing cruelly. Tai looked around the dark elevator, but couldn't see anyone but himself and Sora. Sora was still clinging to his arm, but was not reacting in any way to the evil laugh that was echoing around the elevator. "Don't you hear that?" Tai asked, starting to feel jittery.

"Hear what?" he heard her whisper nervously. So Sora couldn't hear it?

"Nothing," Tai said, not wanting to scare her any more than she already was.

--------------------

Matt Ishida sighed as he leaned back on his chair. The blonde had been plucking at his guitar for past two hours, trying to come up with a new tune. He glanced at the clock and abruptly jumped up from his seat; he was supposed to meet Sora at Tai's apartment in exactly three minutes.

Cursing under his breath, he gingerly replaced his guitar into its case, took a quick glance in the mirror to fix his already perfect hair, and ran out the door.

Matt slid to a stop in front of Tai's apartment complex and looked at his watch. 3:42pm. He was twelve minutes late, but Sora was nowhere in sight. Thinking she was still up at Tai's, Matt walked into the lobby and toward the elevator.

"Whoa, no can do, buddy," a voice said from behind him.

Matt turned around to see a man in a uniform with "Repair" printed across the chest. "You're gonna hafta use the stairs for now 'cause the elevator's down," the man said. "There's two people stuck in there, I heard," he added.

"Oh, okay," Matt shrugged, as he turned toward the stairs. Wait a minute…two people were stuck in the elevator? He stopped and turned his head to the elevator. Could one of them be Sora?

--------------------

Sora sat on the floor of the dark elevator, back leaning against the cool steel doors. The small elevator was getting hotter by the minute, and she and Tai had resorted to leaning against the steel in an attempt to stay cool. How long had they been in here, anyway? The watchman had come on the intercom to inform them that a repairman was on his way, but that seemed like an eternity ago.

She heard Tai sigh heavily, and looked sideways to see him with his eyes closed. Her eyes had adjusted to the dark, and she was now able to look down and see the thin cuts running across his wrist. Tai kept insisting that Miko had scratched him, but Sora knew he was lying. Tai was never a good liar, especially to her. His chocolate brown eyes told all. Another thing: What had Tai heard that she couldn't? He had stopped talking about it when she told him that she didn't hear anything, but it was clear that he was troubled. Was it connected to his cutting?

Sora gazed at her best friend. What would drive him to resort to cutting? Surely, this wasn't about her? She could only hope that she wasn't the cause of his pain.

"Tai?" Sora called softly.

Tai opened his eyes and turned his head to her. "Yeah?"

Sora turned her body to face him and sighed. How would she ask him? "Is…is everything alright?" she asked slowly, looking straight into his brown eyes.

Tai blinked. "What do you mean?"

Sora sighed again. "I mean, you just seem so…" What word wouldn't sound too accusing? "so…_different _nowadays."

Tai looked away at this. "Look, Sora, if this is about the cuts, I already told you what happened," he said, crossing his arms.

"This isn't just about the cuts!" Sora exclaimed. Tai looked rather taken aback at her sudden outrage. "Sorry," she said softly. "It's just, yesterday…you know…when Matt and I saw you at the restaurant…"

--------------------

Tai stared at the floor as Sora looked at him and said, "It's just, yesterday…you know…when Matt and I saw you at the restaurant…"

It was coming back to him now. Everything he had pushed to the darkest corner of his mind as he cut his wrist…it was all trickling back to his mind's eye.

The restaurant, Matt, Sora, the hair clip, the love of his life…

Tai clenched his fists at the thought of Matt. "I don't really want to talk about that right now," he said through gritted teeth.

"Tai…are you angry at Matt?"

Tai snorted. "Wherever did you get such an idea?" he said, even as he imagined himself punching Matt's face.

"Listen, Tai-" but her voice was cut off by another.

"Tai Kamiya." The voice was back. Tai immediately perked up and looked around for the source of the voice, but saw no one. "See how she is concerned about Matt?" the voice sneered. "She does not care for someone like you."

Beyond furious, Tai glared at the opposite wall as if the voice were standing there. "SHUT UP!" Tai bellowed

"T-Tai?"

Tai looked at Sora. Apparently, she thought that Tai had just screamed at her. "Sorry," Tai muttered, hanging his head.

"Tai, I'm worried about you," Sora said softly.

Tai looked up at her and saw her eyes shining with genuine concern. 'You see that?' he thought to the voice. 'She does care about me.'

It was then that the elevator gave a groan and finally began to move. Sora gave a sigh of relief as the elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open. Tai, who had been leaning against the door, fell backwards onto the hard lobby floor.

"Tai!" he heard Sora rush over to him. "You okay?"

Tai sat up, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, I'm fine," he muttered. It was considerably brighter in the lobby than it had been in the elevator, and he had to blink several times to adjust his eyes to the light.

There was a small crowd of maybe six or seven people standing around him, and one of them stepped up and held out a hand. "C'mon, Tai. Let me help you up."

Tai looked up to see none other than Matt, with his hand outstretched in front of him. Tai was about to push it away, when he saw Sora standing beside Matt and remembered the little conversation they had had in the elevator. Avoiding Matt's eyes, Tai grudgingly took his hand and allowed himself to be lifted to his feet. "Thanks," Tai muttered.

"Anytime," Matt said coolly. The crowd dispersed, disappointed that nothing remotely exciting seemed to have happened to Tai or Sora. Tai stood with his arms crossed, staring at anything but Matt and Sora.

Sora, apparently sensing Tai's discomfort around Matt, hurriedly said, "Matt, we better get going if we're still gonna catch that movie," she said as she tugged on his arm.

Tai looked up at them. "Yeah…you two should get going."

"You're still up for a movie after being trapped in an elevator?" Matt asked incredulously.

"No, I'm fine, Matt," Sora replied smiling.

Matt smiled and turned his sapphire eyes to Tai. "Do you want to come with us? You're probably bored by yourself."

Tai shoved his hands into his pockets and turned to the stairs. "No thanks," he muttered as he walked away. "You two have fun."

Even as he heard Sora and Matt bid him farewell and listened to their footsteps fade away, Tai felt a pang of regret. He wanted to go with them, but naturally, the thought of being a third wheel did not appeal to him.

Tai stopped on the fourth stair. Now that he thought about it, he really didn't want to go back into the empty apartment just yet. Having just been rescued from a tiny elevator, Tai had no intention of spending more time in a closed space. Besides, hearing strange voices when no one else could, had to be a sign that his head needed some fresh air. A short walk around town in open space sounded nice.

Tai turned around and walked outside into the bright summer sunshine. As he stood on a street corner waiting for the walk signal, a deep voice laughed quietly into his ear. Alarmed, Tai spun around at lightning speed, but saw no one. He blinked in confusion and turned back toward the street, convinced that his head was playing tricks on him.

Tai proceeded across the street once it was safe to cross, but froze midway. Across the street, Matt and Sora were locked in a kiss. Tai's eyes were glued to them, his mind screaming to run over and pull Matt away from Sora.

But before Tai could take another step, something slammed into his body.

It all happened too fast for Tai to register what was happening: he felt his body fly through the air until he hit the hard, concrete street with a sickening crunch. He was sprawled on his back in the middle of the street, a fresh puddle of blood growing around his head, unable to move or speak. Out of the corner of his eye, Tai saw a large van racing away from the scene. Slowly, his vision blurred and everything seemed to go quiet.

The last thing Tai heard before blacking out was a dark, malicious laugh echoing in his head.

--------------------

**A/N**- Well, I'm not too pleased at how this chapter came out, but I did all I could. I hope you readers thought it was alright. The next chapter is the beginning of the true plot! Thanks for reading, and please REVIEW:)


	3. A Stranger

**Disclaimer**- I disclaim my ownership of Digimon.

**A/N**- Yes, I am alive. And I realize it's been months since I last updated. I've been really, really, really busy with classes and college applications, so that's my lame excuse for the lack of updates. But at least I haven't abandoned the story and I've finally updated with chapter 3!!! 

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"_That which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence._" _–Kahlil Gibran_

**Chapter Three- A Stranger**

Sora Takenouchi had to be in some sort of horrible nightmare. There was no other explanation for the sight before her eyes.

No…this couldn't be reality…

She closed her eyes, trying to drift away from what she desperately wished was a dream. Instead, the incident flashed across her mind's eye for the umpteenth time: Matt pulling her into a kiss… both of them pulling away at the sound of a screeching vehicle… looking up to see a van collide with Tai… Tai lying sprawled across the road… blood…

Sora opened her crimson eyes, now shining with tears. Her eyes fell upon Tai, who was lying on the hospital bed in front of her, hooked up to countless machines.

"He's in a coma." The doctor's words still rang through her like the sound of a bell, echoing in the far depths of her mind. An icy horror seized her as she realized this wasn't a dream. This was reality. Cold, ruthless reality.

Seeing Tai in such a fragile, vulnerable state was not something Sora was accustomed to. For as far back as she could remember, Tai had always been so strong, both physically and mentally. He always seemed so hardheaded, almost indifferent to emotional pain. But Sora knew otherwise; she knew that Tai allowed tears to escape his eyes when he was greatly distressed.

That was why Sora had been so touched when she learned that Tai had cried when Datamon had abducted her. She still remembered Mimi's shining eyes as she excitedly informed Sora of this revelation. The thought of Tai crying over her sake made her feel immensely moved to know how important she was to him.

Of course, Tai never mentioned that he had wept over her abduction. He was like that; always wanting to be the strong one, so the rest of the team wouldn't weaken and lose hope. It was his duty as their leader, and he never forgot that. Even now, with their adventures as a team far off in the past, Tai refused to let their group drift apart. But what would happen to them if Tai should d-

No. Tai was _not_ going to die.

Sora refused to think of the possibility. She shook her head, as if the action would shake off the thoughts of death that were clinging to her mind.

The fear that she might never see Tai again felt familiar. Hadn't she almost lost Tai before?

Sora searched through the dark corners of her memories; recollections that were too painful to keep in the light.

Yes, it was coming back to her now: the day Tai and MetalGreymon disappeared through a rift, right after he had rescued her from Datamon. The group had searched for their leader in vain, and Sora couldn't help but fear that Tai was dead and that their searching was futile. Eventually, Sora broke off from the group, unable to bear the thought that she would never see Tai again. No, Tai couldn't have just disappeared…not after he had just saved her life…just when she was beginning to see him in a whole new way…

It seemed as though Tai had been unconscious for years, but in reality, it had only been about four hours since the accident. And yet, Sora missed Tai's presence, his laugh, his ridiculously adorable lopsided grin, and his deep chocolate eyes, as if it had been years since she had last savored each.

Each torturous second felt like a day to the distraught girl as she gazed at her best friend with the hope that any second now, he would open his eyes and gaze back at her with his warm, chocolate eyes.

But now, Tai was lying before Sora with the looming possibility of his death pressing down upon her from every which way. She began to feel dizzy, and could almost feel the floor beneath her crumble away, throwing her into an endless void of darkness. Sora shut her eyes and gripped the sides of her chair for dear life.

Why was it that she suddenly felt so helpless? Would she feel the same if it were Matt lying in Tai's place?

And with a sinking feeling, it dawned upon her that she wouldn't feel as forlorn if Matt were lying before her.

But why?

Didn't she love Matt?

Did she, after all these years of denial, love Tai?

Sora felt herself standing apart and watching the world fade away from her. "Oh, Tai," she whispered, warm tears now slipping down her cheeks. "Why do I feel so lost without you?"

That was the problem with society. They only know what they have until they lose it. And Sora was no exception.

--------------------

Matt Ishida was in awe of doctors. The calm way in which they told a parent that their child was dying was almost inhuman. He only wished that he had let the doctor tell Kari about Tai's condition, instead of taking on the duty himself.

Poor Kari was in hysterics after Matt broke the news about Tai. "K-Kari, don't…don't panic, okay?" he had stuttered over the phone. "Tai…he…he…" Matt could almost see Kari at the other end, holding her breath. "Tai…got hit by a car."

A sharp intake of air.

"He's in the hospital. And, and, well, he's…in a…in a coma."

Silence.

"Kari?" Matt felt the phone vibrating—his hand was trembling. "Kari? Kari, are you there? Listen, don't…don't…cry."

Too late.

Kari's sobs rang through the phone as Matt felt his face heat up, and before he knew it, he was crying as well.

As if Kari's reaction wasn't bad enough, Sora's was worse. Kari's cries had been deafening, but Sora's silence was even more deafening.

"Sora, say something. Please."

Nothing.

"Sora? What's wrong?" Stupid question.

"Are you okay?" Another stupid question.

"Sora." Matt turned her around to face him and put his hands on her shoulders. "You can't stay silent like this forever. Talk to me. Cry. Anything. Please!"

Matt looked up at the hospital ceiling and sighed. He never knew silence could be so nerve-racking. He looked down to see Sora's empty eyes; two glass orbs painted a crimson color to hide the empty interior. She was gone, her spirit stumbling through the shadows, groping in search of Tai.

"What kind of boyfriend are you?" a nasty little voice in his head mocked.

"You're right," Matt replied in a whisper. "I can't even comfort my own girlfriend."

He slowly lowered Sora back into the seat beside Tai's hospital bed and turned to look at his comatose friend. Tai looked absolutely horrible, with his face covered in cuts and bruises, a bandage wrapped around his bloody head, and countless tubes sticking through his mangled body to keep him alive. It wasn't hard to see why Sora was so upset. Maybe a little too upset.

"_Oh my God_…"

Matt turned to see T.K. standing at the door, cerulean eyes wide in shock.

"I _cannot_ believe this."

"Neither can I, little bro." Matt looked back at Tai as T.K. came to his side. "Did Kari call you about this?"

"Oh…yeah. I couldn't really understand what she was saying at first, 'cus, well, she was kinda sobbing…a lot."

Matt nodded in understanding.

"But I caught her say 'Tai' and 'coma' and rushed over. Sora?" T.K. bent over Sora's chair to look at her, his eyes glistening with concern. "You okay?" Sora was just as unresponsive as she had been with Matt. "She's taking this really hard, isn't she?"

Matt sighed. "I don't know what to do. She won't talk to me or even look at me. She hasn't even cried this entire time." He sunk down onto an empty chair beside Sora. "She's just…empty."

T.K. gave Sora's hands a comforting squeeze before walking over to the window. "Empty…" he whispered, gazing out the window. "Reminds me of Tai last Christmas, after Sora—" but T.K. abruptly stopped talking.

"What?" Matt looked up at T.K. "What happened to Tai last Christmas? And what about Sora?"

T.K. swiveled around to face Matt with a nervous face. "N-nothing! Nothing happened!" he stammered.

But Matt saw a glint in T.K.'s cerulean eyes that said otherwise. "T.K., tell me what happened," he said in a gentle but assertive tone. He saw his brother hesitating, needlessly fumbling with the ends of his shirt sleeves.

"I really don't think I should tell you…"

"T.K., please. Look at those two," Matt said, turning his head toward Tai and Sora. "I'm trying to figure out how I can help them through this, and you're not telling me something that might give me a clue."

T.K. turned his gaze toward Tai and Sora. Finally, he sighed and looked at Matt. "Okay. But I think we should talk outside," he said, giving Sora a quick glance.

--------------------

Tai Kamiya had a pounding headache. Moaning in pain, he rolled over onto his stomach and heard the familiar sound of his bed creaking under his weight. With his eyes still glued shut, he pulled his pillow over his head and allowed a heavy sigh to escape his lips. Why was his head hurting so much? And when had he fallen asleep on his bed? Hadn't Sora just been over to visit?

…Sora…

Upon the thought of Sora, the memory of the accident crashed down upon him: the voice; Sora and Matt locked in a kiss; something crashing into his body; darkness.

Tai's eyes shot open and he pulled his pillow off his head in one quick motion. He was in his bedroom, and it looked exactly as he had left it this morning. But…how? He was certain that the accident was no dream. Then, shouldn't he be at the hospital?

Tai sat up slowly, his head pounding even more painfully as he gingerly lifted his head. He ran his eyes around the room, but even as his eyes scanned the familiar surroundings, something didn't quite feel right. 'This definitely _looks_ like my room…' Tai thought, as his eyes fell upon broken pens and crumpled paper balls lying higgledy-piggledy on his desk. 'But it doesn't _feel_ like my room…if that makes any sense.'

As he struggled to make sense of his situation, a deep laugh rang out from a dark corner of his room. Alarmed, Tai snapped his head in the direction of the voice. Pain shot through his already pounding head at the sudden movement. Ignoring the pain, he demanded in a firm voice, "Who's there?"

The voice merely laughed in response. It was a haunting laugh that seemed to undulate around the room. It spread like a wave into every nook and cranny of Tai's room, causing whatever it touched to vibrate in fear. Tai, however, was less susceptible to fear. He glared at the dark corner of the room, waiting for the entity to respond.

A familiar voice spoke from the corner. "Have you thought about my offer?" it asked in its haunting tone.

Offer…? Tai was puzzled for a moment. He racked his brain and remembered what he had thought was a dream: the darkness and its voice. It had offered to help him forget Sora. Tai narrowed his eyes at the shadow hovering in the corner. "I don't care for your offer."

Somehow, Tai could almost see the shadow smirking in response. "I take it that you don't care for Sora Takenouchi, either?" it sneered.

Tai felt his face heat up in anger and gripped the sides of his bed. "You have _no_ right talking about Sora," he growled through gritted teeth.

"Ah, but you have no right in wanting her love," it replied in a smug tone.

At this, Tai furrowed his brows. He had no right wanting Sora's love? Of course, he knew that loving Sora was like betraying Matt, but Tai had never thought of the possibility that he had no right in wanting Sora's love. Was it so wrong to love her?

Sure, he was insanely jealous of Matt, but Tai never said anything to him because as much as he was jealous, Tai still cared for his friend. He wouldn't dare hurt Matt.

But why was Matt hurting him so much?

"You have been betrayed by your friend."

Tai looked up in surprise. "W-what?"

The voice snickered. "Your so-called _friend_, Matt Ishida. Can you not see how he has betrayed you?"

Matt betrayed him? Matt, the bearer of the crest of friendship, betrayed his own friend?

It seemed ludicrous, and yet, Tai had a sinking feeling that the voice could be right. Maybe he wasn't the one betraying Matt by loving Sora. Maybe it was _Matt_ who was betraying _him_ by dating Sora. Afterall, Matt should have known that Tai had feelings for Sora. Surely, someone must have told Matt that Sora had rejected him for the blonde?

Tai felt a wave of hatred wash over him as he thought it over.

"Wouldn't you simply like to…forget?"

"For…get?"

"Yes. Forget. Forget Sora. Forget the cause of your pain." The voice continued upon Tai's silence. "It will be better, you know. Not only for you, but for Sora as well."

Tai hated the way the voice spoke. It carried out each word slowly, emphasizing every syllable so that the words sunk in and latched onto him, causing whatever it said to sound undeniably convincing.

Tai stared down at his hands, deep in thought. So, it would be better for Sora if he forgot her? Maybe it was time that he started being less selfish. If Sora was happy, he was happy. "Okay," he said as he swung his legs off the bed and stood up.

"Is that an agreement?"

"As long as you promise that Sora will be happier."

"Of course, of course." The voice almost sounded comforting. "Now, I need all the evidence that Sora ever existed in your life."

"Evidence?"

"Pictures, videos, whatever shows the two of you together," it replied, sounding impatient.

Tai dug through volumes of photo albums and pulled out every photo of him and Sora. Tai and Sora in kindergarten. Tai and Sora at soccer practice. Tai and Sora at soccer camp. Tai and Sora at their junior high school graduation. Tai and Sora at the beach. Each photo piled up into a large mound of some of Tai's most treasured memories.

"Here," he said, reluctantly pushing the mound to the voice's corner. "I…I think that's everything."

The shadow that hovered in the corner expanded outward and absorbed the entire mound of photos. The photos seemed to melt into the shadow before disappearing into darkness. But the shadow quivered, as if searching for something in its black void.

"You have kept something from me," the voice said in an accusing tone.

"No, I didn't," Tai lied, the image of one last photo hovering in his mind. "I gave you everything."

"Do not try to deceive me, Tai Kamiya!" the voice boomed.

Tai felt the floor vibrate as the shadow began to pulse in anger. "I told you, I gave you everything!" he yelled, not caring that the voice was getting angry with him.

Behind him, Tai heard something crash into the wall. He spun around to see the drawer of his bedside table lying in a splintered wooden heap on the floor. Among the rubble, Tai saw his most treasured possession peeking through splints of wood, almost hiding from the shadow. He had half a mind to grab the last photo from the ruins of the drawer, but before he could take a step towards it, the photo flew out from the mess and came to a stop in front of the shadow.

"What is _this_?" the voice said in a mocking tone, as the photo hovered before the shadow.

Tai could only stare at the photo. He felt his chest grow tight as he gazed at the two young smiling children in the photo; he and Sora in one of their happiest years. He and Sora might never go back to such times. It seemed too far back in the past.

"I tried to help you, Tai Kamiya," the voice whispered hauntingly. "But now, I see that you only seek to deceive others." The voice began to grow louder, more menacing. "I will not only make you forget Sora, but everyone else as well. I will make you _suffer_."

Tai narrowed his eyes at the shadow. "Do your worst. I'm not afraid of _you_."

"Oh, I _will_," the voice promised. It emitted a malicious laugh as the shadow slowly absorbed the last photo into its dark void.

'I'm sorry, Sora,' Tai thought, as he saw the two smiling faces of him and Sora fade into darkness. 'You'll probably be better off without someone like me.'

Tai closed his eyes as he felt himself being sucked into darkness once more.

--------------------

'Why hasn't Tai woken up yet?' Sora asked herself for the thousand and first time.

She reached over and gently placed her hand over Tai's hand. His hand felt cool in her warm hand. "You'll wake up soon, won't you Tai?" she whispered. Slowly, she lowered her head onto his chest and closed her tired eyes. "It's been three days, Tai," she continued. "Everyone's worried sick." Sora felt tears welling up behind her closed eyes. "I miss you so much." She lifted her head and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. A sigh escaped her lips as she turned her head to look at Tai's face.

Tai's chocolate eyes were looking back at her.

Sora blinked and rubbed her eyes. "T-Tai…?" He was awake? "Tai!" He was awake!

But something was wrong. Something didn't feel right. The chocolate brown eyes Sora knew so well were empty. There was no warmth. No friendly glimmer.

This boy was not Tai.

This boy was a stranger.

Sora's heart raced as she brought herself even closer to him and took both his hands in her own. "Tai, can you hear me?"

…

"Tai…do you…do you know who I am?"

Tai stared at Sora with a vacant expression. "Who are you?" he asked quietly.

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**A/N**- I love cliff-hangers, don't you? I'll try not to leave you dear readers hanging for another 5 months. College applications are behind me, but my midterms are in a few weeks…but I _promise_ to update sometime this month!!! Keep checking my profile for any updates on how the chapters are coming along.

And if you saw the updated story summary, don't be confused. The original summary I had up was a bit misleading, because it sounded as if I was going to have Tai die (which I never planned on).

Thank you SO much for reviewing the previous chapters!!!

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!


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